Yearly Archives: 2015

A centre for street children. Building the future Jay is a little 12 year-old artist who proudly shows his drawing: Pope Francis and a dove with a green twig in its beak and a writing that says, ‘Thanks for your visit to the Philippines’. Jay, like many other children, has lived for several months on…

In eastern Africa, the Islamic faith has been used for political purpose for a long time. Muslim groups were active in various movements, including the mostly secular liberation struggles against the colonial powers in places such as Tanzania (then Tanganyika), Sudan and Somalia. In national politics, adherence to a particular faith often defines allegiances and…

Thirty-five minutes long, and full of sound, My Fairy Tales, Nneka’s fifth album, is the best demonstration that true quality music can easily make its way to success even if it breaks some of the industry’s rules. “It’s been a few years since I released my last album [Soul Is Heavy, 2012] – the Nigerian-born…

The next Presidential and Parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2019, but already the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is already in campaign mode for those elections. Meanwhile people continue to suffer. In May last year President Peter Mutharika was sworn into office, promising 16 million Malawians that he would turn the economy around in the…

Islamic extremism is characterized by a certain diversity between groups; however, there are certain things, which run like common denominators through all these groups. These common characteristics are mainly based on theological orientation, political or social objectives and others. Some of these general characteristics are common to most of the extremist groups. A strictly literal…

Creation is the great sacrament of God. All creatures are the manifestation of His beauty and wisdom. God cannot be praised in the middle of ugliness and trash. A reflection which help us to understand the meaning of the importance of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Paris, this month…

Uganda’s electoral commission has set February 18 as the date for presidential polls, with eight candidates approved to run for office. Surveys and many analysts have predicted Museveni’s victory. Some of the explanations for the defeat include a weak opposition, the ruling party’s control of state institutions which is used to manipulate election results in…

Security. After the 11 September bombing of the Twin Towers, the world has become extra security conscious. This can be noted in airports, train stations and other places. Security has become an issue in countries which have armed Islamic extremist groups. Such is the case for Kenya, Uganda, Egypt, Nigeria and others. Even in countries…

Islamic extremism shows many faces as represented by the many and different groups of extremist orientation. The diversity of extremist groups can be understood by basing the division mainly on their ideological orientation and political or geopolitical goals. Ideological/theological orientation. Islamic extremism is not a monolithic reality. Different theological orientations have given different theological motivations.…

The internet has become an arena of international warfare. Especially Islamist extremists use social media to target individuals and communities in the virtual world, with the aim of spreading their ideology and recruiting people. The war in Syria and Iraq is not limited to these countries alone. Over the last three years, 20,000 foreign fighters…

Each day twenty-four people are killed in the streets of El Salvador. The decision of the government to reverse benefits to imprisoned gang member and the end of the truce has given way for more violence and open war against the state. According to the Institute of Legal Medicine (IML), this year will end with…

Women’s economic independence is threatened by land-grabs. Multinational ownership of large scale farmland has serious consequences on the economic independence of the majority of African women whose businesses are agricultural products through which they feed their families, pay for their children’s education and care for themselves. It is irresponsible to take all of this wealth…